Kimberly Clair is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Gender Studies at UCLA. Her dissertation, “The Art of Resistance: Trauma, Gender, and Traditional Performance in Acehnese Communities, 1976-2011,” examines the significance of Acehnese performance—including dance, music, and theater practices—for Acehnese trauma survivors. Focusing on the separatist conflict, the tsunami, and political and religious oppression as sources of trauma within Aceh, Indonesia, her dissertation also investigates the “everyday” hardships Acehnese encounter while living in the diaspora. In this way, her research explores the benefits and limitations of Acehnese performance as a tool for resisting both large-scale and less visible forms of trauma. She has published in the journal Indonesia and presented her research in Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States. Clair had a paper published in CSW's January 2013 Newsletter, titled "The Art of Resistance." You can view the article
here.
